Community groups will be celebrating refugees living across Greater Victoria over the weekend and into next week.
As part of the fifth annual celebration of World Refugee Day, the Greater Victoria Public LibraryB次元官网网址檚 Central Branch is hosting a free family-friendly event to provide an opportunity to welcome refugees and allow residents to get to know their new neighbours.
B次元官网网址淲orld Refugee Day is a chance to honour the strength and courage of these individuals and families, to recognize the great contributions they make in the communities where they are resettled, and to stand in solidarity with them as neighbours, friends, and fellow Canadians,B次元官网网址漵aid Robin Stevenson, a Victoria resident who has sponsored refugees.
The event includes button making, giant chess, a selfie space, and knitting, as well as a workshop on We Speak Translate, an app that aims to get residents in the capital region using the Google Translate App to communicate with refugees and newcomers who canB次元官网网址檛 speak English.
Other events include throughout the week include:
- A flag raising at City Hall on Tuesday, June 20 from noon to 1 p.m.
- In the Footsteps of Our Immigrants: an interactive theatre performance in partnerhip with the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society and the applied theatre department at UVic from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at City Hall (1 Centennial Sq.)
- A Refugee FamilyB次元官网网址檚 Journey at the libraryB次元官网网址檚 Saanich Centennial Branch (3110 Tillicum Rd.) Join author Margriet Ruurs and translate Falah Raheem for a conversation about their childrenB次元官网网址檚 book, Stepping Stones: A Refugee FamilyB次元官网网址檚 Journey.
- Warhoused Documentary screening and panel discussion from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Cincenta, University of Victoria.
The event is organized by a number of Victoria groups, including the local steering committee for World Refugee Day and is a partnership between the library, the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, the Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre Society, World University Service of Canada, among others.
World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations in 2001 and it marked around the world on June 20 to highlight the resiliance of refugees.
